devotionals

What does eating the flesh and drinking the blood really mean if we don’t take it literally?

/ E Bishop Wooten / 1 Comment

John 6:53. . .”Jesus says, ‘Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood you will not have life in you.'”

Today’s verse doesn’t sound too appealing, does it? Especially to someone who doesn’t understand it. This is an example of a verse that is taken too literally. Many of Jesus’s followers turned away because they felt the command was too harsh.

Fundamentalists are known for taking the Bible too literally. Just because it’s not meant to be taken literally doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be taken seriously. Writers tend to use symbolism when they write. So we would have to understand what was going on during that time period as well as the symbolism of the day.

If you take this verse literally you will think Jesus was calling His people to cannibalism. Remember in the book of Revelations where He invited His people to come in and sup with Him?

This statement about eating the flesh and drinking the blood was an invitation to communion with the living God. The only relationship that fills the spiritual void and gives life meaning.

Donald Trump’s legacy: Space Force?

/ E Bishop Wooten / Leave a comment

Perhaps a sure sign we are entering into a space age is President Donald Trump made a move since he has been in office to develop what he calls Space Force. This would be the United States 6th branch of the military. The purpose of a Space Force would be to control military space. You are probably already familiar with our five branches of the military:

  1. Army
  2. Coast Guard
  3. Marines
  4. Navy
  5. Air Force

Speaking of Air Force, a high up in that branch estimated it would cost $13 billion to run the Space Force. $13 billion to conduct military warfare in outer space. We have come a long way from just landing on the moon 50 years ago. We have been fearing World War Three for over 70 years. Now it is looking like it will be against the aliens.

What are we going to do? Conquer the alien’s land, put them on reservations and establish a central bank. Perhaps set up a Democracy on other planets?

I guess when we discovered and settled America, we had officially been around the world, and conquered it. Mankind gets bored easily, so now we are branching out into outer space, literally.  It is nice to know our hard earned tax dollars are going to keep us all safe from being invaded from outer space. Maybe we’ll eventually reenact the Crusades by having a holy war over whatever religion they practice up there. Or we will try to convert the Aliens to Christianity. If they don’t convert then we kill them and put them on reservations.

The myth of unconditional love

/ E Bishop Wooten / Leave a comment

Romans 9:13. . .”As it is written, ‘Jacob I have loved and Esau I have hated.'”

The biggest lie ever heard of read is that of unconditional love. We get so disappointed when those who are supposed to love us end up pushing us away.

Other people who claim to love us, be it friends or family, always seem to have expectations on how we are supposed to act in order to receive that love. If we don’t live up to said expectations, then don’t plan on being invited to the family reunion or even receive a Christmas card.

It is also noteworthy to say the the word unconditional is not even in the Bible, in any translation. God Himself even says he hates some people; I.e., “Jacob I have loved and Esau I have hated” comes to mind.

Keep it mind that the word hate is the word the writer of the biblical story used. If you look up the word hate in a concordance you discover that the word hate simply means to “love less than”.

The good news is no one really hates you. But human love is never unconditional either. Even God expects us to walk in accordance with His precepts. Jesus said “if you love me, then obey my commandments for they are not burdensome.” Basically we are to love God and our neighbors.

The only person we can love unconditionally is ourselves. This can become hard to do when we place high expectations on ourselves. This is where we have to be realistic and love ourselves no matter the outcome of our life pursuits.

Any thoughts and opinions are greatly appreciated in the comment section below. God bless.

Beginning again, starting over

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John 3:7. . .”‘Marvel not that I said unto thee-You must be born again.'”
The words of our Lord & Saviour, Jesus Christ to Nicodemus, who replied-“how can man be reborn when he is old?” And Jesus answered that we must be born of water and of the spirit. Water likely refers to our natural birth.

Being born again comes when we experience God personally, when He comes into our lives. This usually happens when we realize that we sinned against Him and believe that He sent His Son Jesus to live a sinless life and die a tragic death on a cross to pay for all of our shortcomings & failures. Then we cry out to God to forgive us in Jesus’s name or ask Jesus to come into our lives and be our Lord & Saviour. Salvation is free and entirely by God’s grace but we have to be willing to turn from our sins and turn to the Lord before He’ll save us.

It’s not based on our good works-it’s our hearts attitude toward God. God only reveals Himself to a lost sinner through the person of Jesus Christ when they seek Him. And no one seeks Him unless the spirits drawing them and they sense that nothing else in this world can make them happy.

Dreaming dreams

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Joel 2. . .”And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions

.”I once heard Charles Stanley (aka, “America’s Pastor”; next to Billy Graham that is) say that if you’re not dreaming you’re dying. God has placed a dream inside of every believer in His Son that requires an extraordinary step of faith to carry out.

Many Christians are just content with being saved and going to heaven that they become too content with life and get stuck in a rut of everyday existence. That’s called settling for an average or mediocre lifestyle.

Although our steps are preordained by the Lord, we also create our destinies by taking what God gives us and going as far as we can with them; For His glory of course.

No person was put here by accident and nobody was meant to live an average existence. The fact that you’re here in this time shows that the world around you needs something that only you can provide.

So, in closing, what dream has God placed on your heart to carry out in your life? You may have blinded yourself to your dream by telling yourself you weren’t good0 enough or equipped enough to carry it out but if you’re seeking God with all of your heart you’ll find it-if you want to anyway. If you want to do more than just live day to day without any goals.

Of course the first step to finding God’s will for your life is accepting Jesus as your personal Lord & Saviour, then being filled with His Holy Spirit to empower you to live victoriously.